CHOP Researcher Inducted into Italian Academy of Sciences

Douglas C. Wallace, Ph.D., director of the Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, was inducted into the Italian Academy of Sciences during the Academy’s 234th annual meeting on May 5 in Rome. Dr. Emilia Chiancone, as president of the Academy, conducted the ceremony inducting Dr. Wallace as a foreign member of the organization.

Founded in 1782 as the Italian Society, the Italian Academy of Sciences has a mission of encouraging scientific research and disseminating the progress of science to schools and the general public. It membership is limited to 40 Italian scientists and 25 foreign members. During the Academy’s long history, it has welcomed as members Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Louis Pasteur, Alessandro Volta, Rita Levi-Montalcini, Wilhelm Roentgen, Enrico Fermi and many other internationally prominent scientists.

“We are deeply honored that this very elite international scientific organization has recognized Dr. Wallace’s accomplishments,” said Bryan Wolf, M.D., Ph.D., chief scientific officer of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

During the event, Dr. Wallace presented a lecture on the role of mitochondria in metabolic and degenerative diseases. Mitochondria are tiny structures that function as power plants within cells, carrying their own DNA and playing crucial roles in physiology. Wallace founded the field of mitochondrial medicine 40 years ago, and investigates the role of mitochondria in human evolution, health and disease. He is also a member of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences and Medicine.